Alex Galchenyuk could be top NHL centre

#7: Alex Galchenyuk #14, Scott Kosmachuk #16 and Miles Koules #8 all of Team White watch action against Team Black during the NHL Research Development and Orientation Camp held at the Mastercard Centre on August 18, 2011 in Etobicoke, Ontario.Dave Sandford
/ NHLI via Getty Images

For U.S. college hockey players, the key is deciding when it’s time to give pro hockey a chance.

Last fall, Alex Galchenyuk was regarded as one of the brightest prospects for the 2012 draft, but his future was left in doubt after he required knee surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during an exhibition game.

The good news is that Galchenyuk returned in time for the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, scoring two goals and adding two assists as his Sarnia Sting lost to Saginaw in six games.

TSN analyst Craig Button says that playoff series and a strong showing at the NHL Combine have propelled Galchenyuk back into the top echelon of prospects.

"He has a very good understanding of the game," Button said. "I compare him to Ron Francis - a smart, steady player who's now in the Hall of Fame."

Button said he would give Galchenyuk the nod over Filip Forsberg because "he's a centre and he can impact the game in more ways."

And Button also projects Galchenyuk ahead of fellow Russian Mikhail Grigorenko, saying he sees Galchenyuk as a No. 1 centre and Grigorenko as a No. 2.

Wait, did we say fellow Russian? Our mistake.

Galchenyuk's father is from Belarus and won a world championship for the old Soviet Union, but the younger Galchenyuk was born in Milwaukee. He has lived in Russia, Italy, Germany and the U.S., but wants to be considered an American for hockey purposes.

He represented the United States at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial under-18 tournament last year and is hoping to make the U.S. team for next year's world junior championship - if he's not playing in the NHL. That's important because it derails any doubts about his wanting to play in North America.

The player's agent, Hall of Famer Igor Larionov, is quick to point out that Galchenyuk and his Sarnia teammate Nail Yakupov are fully committed to playing in the NHL.

Button notes that Galchenyuk has been around pro hockey all his life as he followed his globe-trotting father, who played for 12 teams over 19 seasons. Along the way, the younger Galchenyuk became fluent in English, Russian and Italian, and also picked up some French.

The elder Galchenyuk never made it to the NHL, although he did play in Russia's top league for a decade and played for Belarus at the 1998 Olympics.

Young Alex fell in love with North American hockey when he played for a Russian team in the Silver Stick tournament near Toronto. He went to see John Tavares play for the Oshawa Generals and was surprised to see 5,000 fans watching a junior game.

The following year, his father moved to Chicago, where his son played midget hockey for the Young Americans. That led Galchenyuk to Sarnia, where he was the second-leading scorer among OHL rookies with 83 points in 2010-11.

The only player ahead of him was Yakupov.

Montreal Gazette

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